1999 Fiat Seicento Citymatic from UK and Ireland - Comments

26th Feb 2007, 14:09

Hi.

My seicento is at the service now with the actuator problem, to change it would cost me £1000. I would rather have it converted and I am contacting Fiat, but if in any case I cannot sort it out through Fiat, Could you tell me someone in Kingston (KT1) area who can do the conversion for a reasonable price please?

5th Mar 2007, 09:13

Hi.

Just to add to this. My mum's car has had this problem time and again. It has cost a lot of cash. However, it once happened whilst I was driving it, I had the AA come out, and the AA guy gave me a useful tip for when the gear change problem happens..ie. you can't change gears.

The tip:

1. Engine off, but switch Ignition on.

2. Pump brake pedal a few times

3. Engine on

4. Select 1st.

REPEAT TILL IT WORKS (Hopefully). It did work for me. Apparently this process reboots the ECU.

7th Mar 2007, 14:31

I got a second hand seicento for my 18 birthday and the day after I got it, it broke down on a busy roundabout with gear failure after reading the comments on this site I have realised that it is the gear actuator. had I known about this I would not have bought it and am horrified at the price of repair. I am going to convert to manual instead which will stop recurrence.

8th Mar 2007, 10:07

My mother is currently dealing with this problem as well (actually I am, but you know what I mean)

This is the second time that the actuator has failed and we have decided that the only course of action is to have the car converted to manual.

I have registered a claim with Fiat UK and I am waiting their decision as to who will pay for the repairs. The car is a '99 plated and therefore quite old however, my argument has been if such a device was fitted into a '07 car, it would still fail.

The garage that the car is currently at has been very good about the situation and are happy to keep the car there until a decision has been made.

I am in the process of sending a letter with copies of all servicing and repairs to Fiat to back up 'our' claim.

My next recourse will be to speak to my mothers insurance company and trading standards (or some such organisation) to get their support.

30th Aug 2007, 08:01

Along with many contributors to this site, my wife has sufferred random incidences of the dreaded "no drive/no gear" syndrome. Shortly after purchasing the Seicento new, (it is a 2000 (V) reg vehicle with 32,000 miles on the clock), we had to return it to the local Fiat depot because she couldn't select any gear, we were told that a part in the gearbox had failed & had to be replaced under warranty. However, the next incident occurred in rain, so we attributed this to damp contacts. We realised later, after removing the ECU connectors & coating them with vaseline,it was something else. We never had a problem on the move, normally getting the ACS light & buzzer when starting and so resorted to carrying a 10mm ring spanner in the boot so we could disconnect the positive lead from the battery, leave it for 2-3 minutes, then reconnect the battery again. This simply re-booted the ECU & the car started OK.

In late June, after an attack of ACS-itis, we found that fifth and reverse gears could not selected, this turned out to be a failure in the plastic housing guiding the gear linkage, possibly due to my wife frantically trying to get the car ino gear. In early July however, the car started to show the symptoms in traffic and like other sufferers, a diagnostic check showed that there were "no problems". I phoned Fiat Customer services, obtained a case reference number and discussed the problem with the customer services rep. He didn't seem to be surprised and told me that there were three options available, one; for Fiat to buy the car back; two, for Fiat to give me a good trade in figure against a new Fiat car and three, to convert the vehicle to manual at Fiat expense. Now, after 8 weeks of regular phone calls to Fiat customer Services, I have had a call from Fiat telling me they will convert the car to manual at my local dealers, at their cost. I have asked them to confirm this in writing.

I guess, all I can do now is wait and see what transpires, shame really that Fiat have dug their head in the sand with this problem as my wife really loves her little Fiat and finds it most convenient, particularly for its ease of parking and economy.

1st Oct 2007, 13:00

I too am having the same problems luckily I bought it from a fiat dealership and it has an AA warranty. after much persistance they have admitted the problem and are getting in touch with Fiat, who have in the past offered a payment of £2000 towards a new fiat such as a Panda or free conversion to manual. I don't know what they are going to say for definate yet, but will keep you posted. I should be hearing tomorrow.

13th Nov 2007, 06:02

Just finish fitting 2nd hand manual pedal assembly and clutch lever into my just bought 2nd hand x reg 22000 miles Seicento, but got stuck with the electric side. Please some help to- start it,get the buzzer to shut up and what about the ACS light. I can be contacted at e-mail tjaartjacq@yahoo.co.uk

16th Feb 2008, 07:25

I would appreciate any info on the wiring modification when changing a Fiat Seicento 899cc Citymatic semi-clutch to manual, as I cannot find anything about this on the Internet or anywhere else. Thanks. I can be contacted at peter martin 8007@ntl.world.com